{"id":17611,"date":"2010-01-07T16:34:59","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T23:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/news\/?p=281"},"modified":"2017-02-18T21:40:38","modified_gmt":"2017-02-19T04:40:38","slug":"interview-with-ta-loeffler-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alanarnette.com\/blog\/2010\/01\/07\/interview-with-ta-loeffler-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with TA Loeffler"},"content":{"rendered":"

We hear a lot about the famous people on Everest so I like to focus on the not so famous; however you might define that. In her hometown of St. John’s Newfoundland, TA Loeffler is quite famous; even a legend. If you have ever read her Blogs, book<\/a> or had been fortunate to hear her speak, you know why.<\/p>\n

TA Loeffler<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TA is one of those individuals who brings you into her world by inspiring you to be the in yours. She will be climbing Everest this spring with Canadian Tim Ripple’s Peak Freaks.<\/p>\n

When not climbing, TA teaches outdoor education at Memorial University of Newfoundland in the School of Human Kinetics and Recreation.\u00a0 She tells me that the university has been very supportive of her climbing passion and sees them as professional \u201cperformances\u201d in the same way that her colleagues in music might train for and perform a concert.<\/p>\n

TA feels It’s important to give back to the community that supports her and she regularly speaks in schools trying to inspire kids to have big dreams and to become more physically active.\u00a0 Over 20,000 kids have heard TA talk – amazing.<\/p>\n

One of her first big climbs was an attempt on Mount Robson in the Canadian Rockies.\u00a0 She continued to build skills and interest on the Mexican volcanoes in addition to a cornucopia of outdoor activities such as sea kayaking, canoeing, winter camping, skiing and of course being from Canada, ice hockey. In the midst of all this she became an instructor for NOLs.<\/p>\n

She learned a valuable lesson in 2004 while on Denali.\u00a0 With a NOLs teams, they started at the Muldrow Glacier and climbed the 18,000 feet to the summit, humping huge loads along the way.\u00a0 They lived on the glacier for almost 30 days and managed to get all 14 climbers to the summit and back. She says it was a turning point for her.<\/p>\n

Now infected with this addiction we call mountaineering, she\u00a0 began looking for something more and soon found herself biking to Everest Basecamp on the Tibet side. It was then the pull of Everest was planted.\u00a0 Similar to many of us, she wasn\u2019t scared about the climbing but rather was terrified by the fundraising. In her own words; she “had no idea how a phone-phobic, terrifically shy human was going to raise the $60,000 I needed to make the climb possible.”<\/p>\n

Her dream started to come together after selling T-shirts and toques, begging friends, and soliciting sponsors. With the Seven Summits in her plans, she has been plugging away\u2026 summitting Aconcagua in 2006, Kilimanjaro in 2008, Elbrus in 2009 and Kosciusko in Oct of 2009.<\/p>\n

And of course an ill-fated attempt on Everest in 2007. Her experience was discouraging but that word is not in her vocabulary. She made an attempt on Pumori in October 2008 as part of her Everest come-back tour. It was on Pumori, while looking at Everest, that her dream was cemented.<\/p>\n

With all that background, here is our interview with the remarkable TA:<\/p>\n

Q: I interviewed you on March 12, 2007 before your previous Everest attempt. A variety of illnesses kept you below C2. How did that experience affect you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I actually got close to the base of the Lhotse Face.\u00a0 I spent two nights at Camp Two and have some regrets that Mingma and I didn\u2019t go all the way to the Lhotse Face and climb up a bit-he wanted to get back down to base camp to see Conrad Anker.\u00a0 I arrived at basecamp with a bad case of bronchitis and that made the start of the 2007 expedition tough.\u00a0 I fought my way back to health by dropping back down to Pheriche but I missed the first round of acclimatization with the rest of the team.\u00a0 Once I got back to BC, Mingma and I went up on our own to Camp One and then onto Camp Two.\u00a0 After I returned from Camp Two, I developed Giardia but unfortunately it took a long time to figure out what was going on so by the time, I was finally ed for it, I\u2019d lost significant weight and strength.<\/p>\n

Of course, it was not the ending that anyone wanted for my climb but I realized I didn\u2019t have the resiliency or reserve to be safe up high.\u00a0 I knew I could have dragged myself back up to Camp Two but I didn\u2019t want to put anyone on my team or Mingma in danger because of my weakness.\u00a0 I was hugely disappointed as I had trained so hard, mortgaged my house, and had my entire province cheering me on, but no mountain summit is worth dying for and I wanted to live to climb another day, so I turned my back on the climb and made friends with disappointment.\u00a0 That\u2019s one of the major lessons I stress when doing presentations is that Everest taught me to \u201crisk disappointment.\u201d\u00a0 So many times it\u2019s tempting to stay where we know we can do something but I think sometimes we need to risk disappointment to go after our big dreams and big goals.<\/p>\n

Q: Everest is part of your 7 Summits goal. What drives this objective?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I started the Seven Summits as a way of gaining more climbing experience in preparation for Everest but then I realized that they were becoming great teachers for me.\u00a0 In Buddhism, there are the Six Paramitas and one day as I reflected on both my climbs and my Buddhist path (I began my Buddhist training at the same time as I was training for Denali), I realized that while climbing the Seven Summits, I was receiving direct and embodied teachings\/learnings of the paramitas (generosity, patience, discipline, persistence, wisdom, meditation).\u00a0 So not only have the Seven Summits been a great mountaineering and cultural experience, it\u2019s also been a wonderful spiritual path.<\/p>\n

Q: You have become quite the accomplished climber, adventurer and speaker. \u00a0Is there a single lesson you share with your audiences?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I actually share many lessons such as risking disappointment, dealing with avalanches of doubt, going beyond comfort, appreciating how far we\u2019ve come\u2026I like to tell funny stories from the mountains as well as poignant ones and then tie it all up with the many lessons that the mountains have taught me.
\n
\nQ: I read recently you haul tires up a hill as part of your training? What has been the reaction from bystanders? Any other training secrets?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bystanders are curious and often stop to ask me what I am up to or to make a joke such as \u201cWhere is the rest of the car?\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a challenge to train for high altitude expeditions at sea level but I do my .\u00a0 For now, the tire represents the challenge of altitude and brings my heart rate up to 85% of max so I can sustain a high level of exertion while moving uphill.\u00a0 It\u2019s also good for developing patience and fortitude for putting one foot in front of the other.\u00a0 It\u2019s tough to do and it pushes me hard\u2026I plan to increase either the weight on the tire or the number of tires and weight in my backpack over the next months as I get stronger-the tire currently weighs 45 pounds and I\u2019m carrying 30 pounds in my pack.<\/p>\n

Other training secrets\u2026I\u2019ve got a great team of experts who are helping me with training plans.\u00a0 I think I trained too long before my last Everest expedition so I\u2019m being careful to log all my training and watch my resting heart rate for signs of overtraining.\u00a0 My plan is to get to Nepal as a \u201clean mean climbing machine\u201d\u2026well rested, super healthy and eager to begin the challenges of high altitude climbing.\u00a0 I\u2019m also concentrating on nutrition and eating very well to support my training.\u00a0 I watch climbing DVD\u2019s while doing treadmill work and during my hypoxic training as a way of getting mentally prepared.\u00a0 I also invite folks to come out and train with me some of the time to make it more fun.\u00a0 High intensity intervals and hockey are integral parts of my training as well.<\/p>\n

Q: Our deepest condolences on losing your Father recently. Any thoughts on how he would view your climbing passion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My dad was one of my biggest supporters.\u00a0 Here\u2019s a story from the eulogy I wrote for him\u2026 One of the greatest gifts that my father gave me, and to so many others, was his belief in me.\u00a0 Every spring at his beloved lake and cabin, Dad would orchestrate the putting in of the pier and boat hoist.\u00a0 Most often, all of the male neighbours would gather to help each other to move these very heavy objects from the land into the water.\u00a0 When I was about ten or eleven, I was helping Dad get the pier project started.\u00a0 He and I were lifting the pier sections from their storage location to the lakeshore.\u00a0 As the neighbours began to arrive, they each in turn, tried to come over and take the burden from me.\u00a0 Each time Dad said, \u201cLeave it to her, she can do it.\u201d\u00a0 So since then, at times in my life when I may have doubted whether or not I could do something, like right now perhaps, I hear my Dad\u2019s voice, \u201cShe can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

So I know when doubt arises on Everest, I know I\u2019ll turn to my Dad\u2019s memory for that boost of confidence to take another step.\u00a0 I climbed Elbrus in honour of him and his battle with cancer and I know in many ways, I\u2019ll be climbing Everest for him as well.\u00a0 My dad was an avid outdoorsman and we often compared hunting (his passion) and climbing stories.<\/p>\n

Q: Any other thoughts for your followers this spring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My major goal with my second attempt is to have fun and really enjoy the expedition.\u00a0 Through a number of factors, my first attempt was rift with challenges I didn\u2019t anticipate.\u00a0 I look forward to going back with more experience, teammates I already know, increased strength and fitness, wisdom and full of vim and vigor.\u00a0 I know a tremendous amount of luck, skill, and courage needs to come together for me to stand atop Everest and I\u2019m doing all I can in advance to insure the greatest likelihood of getting to the top-but as usual, I\u2019m trying to hold true to my ultimate goal of learning from each step and not measuring success by the summit.<\/p>\n

On my last two climbs, I\u2019ve drawn motivation from my parents.\u00a0 On Pumori, I dedicated my efforts to my mom and her journey of living through breast cancer and raised funds for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.\u00a0 On Elbrus, I thought often of my dad and his long battle with cancer and raised money for Prostate Cancer Canada.\u00a0 For my second attempt on Everest, I am looking to my Oma, my grandmother Frida Loeffler, for the power, confidence, and strength to tackle such an enormous challenge again.<\/p>\n

Oma is turning 92 in September.\u00a0 This past Mother\u2019s Day, I had a wonderful conversation with Oma.\u00a0 I was saying how amazing it was to still have my grandmother and she said, \u201cWhatever comes, comes!\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cDid you ever think you would live to be 91?\u201d\u00a0 She answered, \u201cOh no, I thought I would be dead at 60 since everyone in my family died early.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked, \u201cWhat do you think the secret of your long life is?\u201d\u00a0 She thought a moment and replied, \u201cI walked everywhere.\u00a0 And I never overeat.\u00a0 I eat my veggies.\u00a0 And have some sweets every now and again.\u00a0 I never hit the bottle much.\u00a0 Though schnapps are a good cure for an upset stomach and take everything as it comes.\u201d\u00a0 This from my Oma who has been declaring to me since I was ten that she was dying, who can still out walk me, and who was famous for carrying heavy cement bags at the age of 70.<\/p>\n

Oma has had a hard life filled with the challenges of beginning over and over again.\u00a0 She was orphaned at the age of six and had to go live with a new family.\u00a0 She survived World War II but lost her home and all belongings.\u00a0 After the war, she immigrated to Canada beginning her life over once again in a new country spending her first year in indentured servitude.\u00a0 Oma\u2019s spent the last decade living without her dear husband with whom she shared life for over fifty years.\u00a0 If anyone in my life knows about starting again, starting over, picking up pieces and going forward, it is my Oma.<\/p>\n

Despite all the hardships she\u2019s faced, Oma is a delightful, generous, and loving person.\u00a0 Her voice brightens whenever I call her on the phone.\u00a0 She still grabs my cheeks, pulls me forward, kisses my forehead, and tells me how much she loves me.\u00a0 Oma has always loved reading and learning new things through books.\u00a0 Whenever I travel through Germany, I always try to bring her back German reading material.<\/p>\n

In celebration of Oma\u2019s life and love of learning and in fulfilling a decade\u2019s old dream, I am establishing an award at Memorial University of Newfoundland (Everest 2010 Mountain of Learning Experiential Education Award).\u00a0 This endowed award will support students in pursuing experiential education opportunities in support of their degree programs.\u00a0 I know my education was greatly enhanced by attending Outward Bound, the National Outdoor Leadership School, and other such programs.\u00a0 I often hear of students wanting to out such opportunities but the cost stands as a barrier.\u00a0 My dream is that the award will reduce some of the obstacles to such experiences and inspire students to enrich their studies by getting outside the classroom.<\/p>\n

The award will be funded through a combination of efforts.\u00a0 I am donating a percentage of each speaking engagement proceeds to the award.\u00a0 I am inviting those who are inspired by my second attempt on Everest to support this worthy cause (donations to the award will be tax deductible).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can follow TA’s Everest climb this spring on her site<\/a> where she already posts weekly updates.<\/p>\n

Best of luck TA.<\/p>\n

Climb On!<\/p>\n

Alan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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